NetEase considered cancelling Marvel Rivals before release, rumours suggest
Marvel Rivals by NetEase Games has been making waves, especially after the release of Season 1.5, which introduced The Thing and Human Torch. The number of players in this heroic shooter has exceeded 40 million, but it has not been without controversy - the Seattle-based development team was recently fired. However, there may be even bigger shocks on the horizon.
Here's What We Know
According to Bloomberg, NetEase is restructuring its overseas investments, and CEO William Ding is reportedly cutting jobs and closing studios. Surprisingly, the Marvel Rivals game itself was almost scrapped before its launch. Ding allegedly faced the problem of paying Disney for the rights to use characters such as Wolverine and Spider-Man.
He also considered replacing them with original characters developed by NetEase. Although this plan was not implemented, it allegedly cost the company millions. It is not known whether it was only about these two characters, but given the global popularity of Wolverine and Spider-Man, Disney probably charged a considerable licensing fee.
A NetEase spokesperson denied the allegations, stating that the company has had a "close partnership" with Marvel since 2018. In addition to Marvel Rivals, they have collaborated on Marvel Duel, Marvel Super War, and the upcoming Marvel Mystic Mayhem.
Go Deeper:
- NetEase is pleased: in just three months, Marvel Rivals has attracted 40 million players;
- Success means nothing: some of the developers of the popular Marvel Rivals game were fired;
- Marvel Rivals authors revealed gameplay trailers of new characters Human Torch and The Thing.
Sources: Bloomberg, GamingBolt
